A foregrip is a well-known original or accessory component for use with rifles and other types of firearms. A foregrip means or refers to a type of forestock which may be configured for user gripping and which may be located toward the front end of a firearm. A foregrip can provide for a more comfortable and ergonomic hold of a firearm, potentially reducing user fatigue and resulting in more controllable fire. A foregrip can also improve the handling characteristics of the firearm and can serve to counter the effect of recoil. Yet another benefit of a foregrip is that the foregrip can be cooler to the touch than a standard forestock making the firearm easier to handle as the firearm generates heat during use.
A limitation of existing foregrips is that such foregrips are not optimally ergonomic across a full spectrum of potential users and potential situational uses of the firearm of which the foregrip is a part. Existing foregrips are not optimally ergonomic because such foregrips are either an immovable component of the firearm or have a limited range of adjustability. These limitations make it more difficult to optimally fit the firearm to the user. An improperly fitted firearm can result in a sub-optimal hold point and aiming of the firearm.
Proper ergonomic fitting of a firearm to the user is a challenge because, of course, each user has unique ergonomic needs based on the user's physical characteristics. A foregrip fitted for one user and which provides for an optimal firearm hold point for that user may be completely unsuitable for another user with completely different physical characteristics.
It is further apparent that different situational uses of the firearm can require that the firearm be uniquely configured to optimally fit the user for the given mission. For example, certain situational uses of a firearm can require that the user adopt a “bladed” shooting stance. In a bladed shooting stance, the user's forward facing shoulder and side is toward the target providing for both a more limited user silhouette and a stable standing shooting position. The user's forward arm is typically below the firearm when in a bladed shooting stance.
In yet other situational uses of the firearm, the user may adopt a more “squared” shooting stance. In a squared stance, the user's chest faces forward toward the target. This squared shooting stance is used, for example, when the user's chest and torso is protected by body armor such as ballistic plates. In such situations, the user is optimally protected, not by adopting a more limited silhouette, but by keeping the body armor toward the target. The body armor is bulky. The body armor on the user's chest can force the user's arm holding the foregrip or forestock sideways and laterally outward from the firearm. A foregrip suitable for an optimal hold point in a bladed shooting stance may not provide an optimal hold point in a squared shooting stance because of the different positions of the user's body for each shooting stance.
It is also apparent that firearms are routinely used under the most extreme and rigorous conditions. Any foregrip component or foregrip accessory contemplated for use with a firearm must be robust and capable of reliable and simple operation under any and all conditions in which the firearm will be used.
It would be an improvement in the art to provide a foregrip which would be an improvement over existing foregrips, which would facilitate optimal fitting of the firearm to the user based on the unique physical characteristics of the user, which would adapt the firearm for different situational uses and which would be reliable and simple to use.